Pattern analysis of the combustions of various copper concentrate tablets using high-speed microscopy and video-based deep learning

The combustion behavior of the complex, ever-changing Cu concentrate with SiO2 flux in a flash smelting shaft should be comprehensively understood to improve the efficiency and energy consumption of smelting. To characterize the combustion behavior of each sample, combustion studies involving high-speed digital microscopy and thermal measurements were performed using numerous small Cu concentrate tablets. Generally, two temperature ranges of heating retardation were observed during combustion, at approximately 800-1000 and 1150-1200 degrees C.A novel video-based Cu concentrate classification system was used to successfully recognize the different combustion patterns of tablets with Cu concentrate-SiO2 mixtures under oxidation gas. This classification system also enabled the calculation of the chemical composition of the concentrate by transforming the network output into a probability distribution. The algorithm based on deep learning employed in this study could learn the combustion behaviors of SiO2-containing Cu concentrates using time-series images extracted from video data.

Automated summary

To improve the efficiency and energy consumption of smelting, it is important to fully understand the combustion behavior of the complex and ever-changing Cu concentrate with SiO2 flux in a flash smelting shaft. This study used combustion studies involving high-speed digital microscopy and thermal measurements to characterize the combustion behavior of small Cu concentrate tablets. The results showed two temperature ranges of heating retardation during combustion, at approximately 800-1000 and 1150-1200 degrees Celsius.